Defiant Navjot Sidhu Says Will "Fight For Truth Till Last Breath"

Navjot Singh Sidhu tweeted a video message this morning, a day after his shock resignation as Punjab Congress Chief, saying he could not compromise on ethics and would "fight for truth until my last breath."

"My fight is issue-based and I have stood by it for a long time. I cannot compromise with my ethics, my moral authority. What I witness is a compromise with issues, agenda in Punjab. I cannot misguide the high command nor can I let them be misguided," Mr Sidhu said in Punjabi, defending a move that has raised questions about the Gandhis' decisions and their faith in him.

He added in the four-minute video: "I have no personal rivalry with anyone. Seventeen years of my political career has been for a purpose, to make a difference, to take a stand and to make people's lives better. This is my only religion."

हक़-सच की लड़ाई आखिरी दम तक लड़ता रहूंगा ... pic.twitter.com/LWnBF8JQxu

— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) September 29, 2021

Backed by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mr Sidhu set the stage for Amarinder Singh's resignation as Punjab Chief Minister on September 18 and Charanjit Singh Channi's takeover, just four months before the state election.

But Mr Channi's decisions on the appointment of ministers and other officials nettled Mr Sidhu, who found that his hold on the new government was not a vast improvement on what it had been under Amarinder Singh.

"I will make any sacrifice to stand by principles. I don't need to think much for it. I broke the system where tainted ministers and officers were accommodated. Now tainted ministers and officers can't be appointed again. I oppose such appointments," Mr Sidhu said.

Apparently referring to senior IPS officer Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota, who has been given additional charge as Punjab Police chief, Mr Sidhu said, "When I see those who gave clean chit to Badals six years back...such people have been given the responsibility for delivering justice."

Mr Sahota was the head of a Special Investigation Team formed in 2015 by the then Akali government to probe the sacrilege incidents or the desecration of the Sikh religious text Guru Granth Sahib.

Mr Sidhu also apparently questioned the appointment of APS Deol as the state's new Advocate General. "Those who secured blanket bails are advocate general," he said.

Mr Deol has been a counsel for former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, an accused in cases involving police firing on protesters in 2015.

The cricketer-turned-politician is also upset at Rana Gurjit Singh being included in the cabinet again. Mr Singh had been accused of a role in a sand mining scam and quit the Amarinder Singh cabinet in 2018. He was later cleared by an inquiry panel.

Mr Sidhu was reportedly also against the key home ministry being assigned to Deputy Chief Minister SS Randhawa, his rival.

He has reportedly refused to reconsider his resignation, forcing the party to look for options to replace him.